69. When can we use the article “a” before words beginning with a vowel?

We can use the article “a” before the words beginning with vowel if they are pronounced as if they began with consonant.

A young man, a university, a European, a one-parent family

70. When do we use the article “an” before words beginning with a consonant?

If a noun begins with a consonant but its pronunciation begins with a vowel and the noun falls under the general rules of the usage of the indefinite article we use an:

an honor an MP

These include words that begin with a silent letter ‘h’: an hour, an honour, an honest child,

And abbreviations said as individual letters that begin with A, E, F, H, I, L, M, N, O, R, S or X an MP, an FBI, an IOU.

But compare abbreviations said as words: a NATO, a FIFA

71. What article do we use when we give a person’s job title or their unique position?

• If we speak about posts which can be occupied by one person at a time we use no article:

Mr. Brown is Chairman of our club.

• If we address to smb we use no article:

How is my wife, doctor?

• If nouns denote noble titles, military ranks, degrees given by universities, polite forms of address we don’t use any article:

Lord Byron Capitan Brown Professor Smith Mr. West

But nouns denoting professions and occupations, if followed by proper names, take the definite article.

The engineer Ivanov (a profession)

The student Smith (an occupation)

• But if no proper name follows, these nouns fall under the general rules:

He is a professor of linguistics.

72. When can we use the article “the” before the names of particular people?

The definite article is used with a name in the plural to indicate the whole family.

We invited the Browns to our garden party.

The definite article is used with a name in the plural to present a temporary state, position of somebody:

The Clyde whom he saw now was different from the Clyde of three years before.

The definite article is used with a name in the plural to present somebody as resembling a well-known or outstanding person or a character in fiction:

Some people called him the Caruzo of their time.

The definite article is used with a name in the plural to denote a piece of workof some writer, painter, outstanding ingeneer, scientist, etc (if there is a limiting attribut)

The Goya bought by Soames was a copy, not the original of the picture. ( there is a limiting attribute here)

73. When can we use the indefinite article or sometimes “zero article” with a name?

The general rule is that names take no articles.

My name is Jack.

But sometimes we can use the indefinite article with proper names. In this case we imply that ther is more than one person bearing the name:

June was a Forsyte. Holly and Jolly were Forsytes. Soames was the richest Forsyte.

Also in this case we can imply that we don’t know anything about this person but his name:

He is a Mr. Smith (= He is a person who goes under the name of Smith, of whome I know nothing but the name)

Also in this case we can denote a piece of work of some writer, painter, outstanding ingeneer, scientist, etc:

In the Hermitage collection there is a Goya.